Dads and Derbies
by whiteswan
Summary: Morgan gives Hotch some advice on a project with Jack and ends up finding out a few surprising facts. Established JJ/Hotch
1. The Fun Begins

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and its characters belong to CBS, even though the network can't seem to figure out how to use them without making a mess of things. Handy Manny and related characters belong to Disney.

Derek Morgan was used to being asked for advice or his opinion; Reid would ask about girls, his sisters would ask about boyfriends, he often got asked for workout tips and his input on cases. Heck, JJ had recently come to him for lessons in hand to hand combat! But of all the things he expected to give advice about, Hotch seeking his opinion on a project he was doing with his kid wasn't one of them!

Of course, Hotch hadn't exactly asked; Derek had walked into his office on a rare slow Friday afternoon for a signature and found his boss flipping through a book on, from what he could see, model cars, which of course piqued Morgan's curiosity.

"Hey Hotch, can I get your signature on this….sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."

Hotch of course, had set the book aside and reached for the file, "It's alright Morgan. Is that the Chicago file?"

"Yeah, it's all set. What's this, working on something with Jack?" While Hotch signed the file, Morgan picked up the book and studied the page, "Pinewood Derby?"

"Yes, Jack joined the Cub Scouts this year and the annual Derby is in a couple of weeks, so we have to carve his car. I'm trying to decide which one will be easiest for him to make; the kids are supposed to do most of the work." He gave a short laugh, "Heavy emphasis on 'most of.' Apparently some of the fathers can get rather competitive and try to take over the job."

That got a laugh from the younger man, "Why doesn't that surprise me? How are you with a saw?"

"I'm no Bob Villa but I'm not Tim Taylor either. I just want Jack to have fun."

"Hey, as long as you don't take off a finger, it's cool. I don't want to inherit any more of your paperwork." He flipped through a few pages before passing the book back to his boss in exchange for the file, "That one ought to be easy enough for the little guy."

"Thanks Morgan."

Just before he left the room, Morgan turned back to ask one more question, "Hey Hotch, when's the Derby?"

"Two weeks from tomorrow. Why?"

"Figured I'd come cheer the little G-man on."

That earned him a rare grin, "Jack would like that. It's at the Legion hall near our house."

"Looking forward to it. See you later." With a half-wave, Morgan left the office to return to his slowly dwindling stack of paperwork.

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Later that night, after dinner and a trip to the local hardware store, Hotch and Jack stood over a makeshift workbench in the garage. Hotch had cut the small block of wood into the appropriate shape and was showing Jack how to sand it smooth when his girlfriend wandered out to on check them. Grinning at the sight of father and son leaning over their project (in matching tool belts and safety glasses) she took a picture with her cell phone before drawing their attention and asking, "How's the car coming along?"

Jack looked up at the blonde with a grin, "Look JJ! Daddy's letting me sand it all by myself!"

She reached over and ruffled his hair, letting loose a cloud of sawdust, "It looks wonderful buddy. You're doing a great job."

Jack beamed and turned back to his sanding as JJ turned to Hotch, "I just wanted to let you know that it's almost 7:30."

He nodded in thanks for the reminder and glanced at his dusty son, "We'll be in soon. I know someone's definitely going to need a bath tonight."

JJ laughed and reached over to flick some sawdust off the shoulder of his t-shirt, "More like two someone's Aaron." Her slightly scolding tone warred with the look of amusement on her face. She'd never thought that she'd be treated to the sight of Aaron Hotchner in jeans and a t-shirt, covered in sawdust, but counted it as one of the many perks of their changed relationship. She giggled and squirmed away when he reached out and tried to pull her into a dusty hug, "Hey, I don't need dust all over _me_! Aaron!"

Hotch just grinned but desisted as Henry wandered out to join them wearing a plastic Handy Manny hard hat, "Hey buddy, what have you got there?"

The two-and-a-half year old held up his little plush tool box, "Dusty an' Pat an' I wanna help!"

Before either adult could respond, Jack piped up in reply, "How about you help me put the stickers on it when it's painted Henry? Can we do that tomorrow Dad?"

Hotch picked up the younger boy so that he could see the car, "We can paint it tomorrow buddy and then you two can add the stickers. But right now it's time to clean up and get ready for bed." The three stood over the car for another moment or two as Jack gave it a few more swipes with the sanding block before setting it down.

"Ok Dad. Can we work on it right after breakfast?"

"Sure, but only if you two take your baths and get right into bed. It'll be a busy day tomorrow." Once the boys nodded in agreement he set Henry down so she could help him remove his 'hard hat' while he and Jack put away the tools for the next morning.

Once Hotch and the boys were bathed and the boys tucked into bed, the two adults curled up on the couch to enjoy the peace and quiet. After a few minutes, JJ was the first to break the silence, "You and Jack looked like you were having a lot of fun out there. It's good to see you relax for a change."

Hotch kissed the top of her head and pulled her more snugly into his side, "It's good to do a project like that with him. He's certainly enjoying it." He turned thoughtful for a moment before continuing, "Morgan mentioned today that he'd like to come to the Derby and cheer Jack on. Should I tell him not to?" While they weren't actively hiding their changed relationship from the rest of the team, they hadn't outright told them yet either and he wasn't sure that the Derby would be JJ's first choice of location for telling them. To his surprise, she shook her head.

"It's ok. Honestly, I was thinking of taking Henry out to breakfast that day, maybe invite Spence along. I don't think Henry would do well in the chaos and I certainly won't miss the fathers and their testosterone fest."

"C'mon Jayje, they're not that bad."

"Hah! Maybe they're not bad most of the time but trust me, I've already been warned about how some of them get during the Derby. One of the moms was kind enough to warn me when I took Jack to the last Pack meeting. You go, maybe invite Dave along too. Henry hasn't seen Spence in a while, so it will be good for them too."

He couldn't argue with that logic, "Alright, I'll ask Dave on Monday. You know, I'm really starting to think that the team's profiling skills are slipping. They still haven't figured out that we're together."

JJ just laughed, "Or maybe we're too good at keeping secrets. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they find out."

Hotch just grinned and tucked her against his side again, turning the TV on with his free hand. While he'd definitely been enjoying their 'secret' relationship, maybe it was time to start dropping some more blatant hints. He couldn't wait to see the look on Dave's face.

A/N: I blame WhimsicalOne for this fic; it sprouted from what was supposed to be a one-shot into a four chapter story. The remaining chapters will be posted over the next week or so.


	2. The Derby

Disclaimer: Let's not even start into how many things would be different if I owed it.

Two weeks later the Hotchner men arrived at the local American Legion hall bright and early, Jack clutching his car close. With the occasional 'help' from Henry, the two had sanded, painted, stickered and lacquered the small car within in an inch of its life. A solid week had been spent preparing the wheels and axels alone, coating them in powdered lubricant in a plastic baggie. All four of them had been dragged into the process that JJ had dubbed 'shake and baking the wheels' by giving the bag a few shakes every time they passed it. And now, the big day was here.

Hotch tugged his son's orange neckerchief into place, "Ready to go in buddy?"

The six year old nodded, obviously nervous, "Daddy, what if I don't do well in the race?"

His father crouched down in front of him and looked him in the eyes, "Jack, you did a great job on your car. And _you_ did it, which is the most important part. I want you to just have fun, okay?"

"Okay Daddy." With one final tug on the neckerchief, they made their way inside.

In the fifteen minutes that it took to get Jack's car weighed, registered and on the line, Hotch decided that not only had JJ been the smart one in making other plans for the morning but also that he should have brought earplugs. The place was a madhouse! Shrieking kids, harried moms and several fathers already puffing up their chests over their kids' cars were only the tip of the iceberg. To his amusement, there was a second set of cars being registered at another table-the 'Dads' Derby' he'd heard mentioned at one of the meetings. And as JJ would say, you could already smell the testosterone in the air. Some of the parents were running a snack booth in the rear of the room and kids were running everywhere. Since Jack had immediately abandoned him in order to join his friends and there was no sign of Dave or Morgan yet, he found a semi-quiet spot and settled in to his usual habit of people-watching.

It was into this chaos that Morgan and Rossi entered a few minutes later and, despite the crowd managed to spot Hotch and make their way over to him. Jack joined them just long enough to give each of his uncles a hug before running off again, leaving the three profilers to watch the crowd and talk.

Dave was the first to speak, chuckling as the crowd milled around them, "Now, I gotta tell you Aaron, this isn't something I ever pictured you at. Though, I bet you could pull off one of those uniforms," he gestured to a nearby leader, clad in khaki and green and received a grin from his friend.

"My old Scout shirt is still packed away in the attic Dave. But I'm quite content to not take on another task right now, especially since soccer season is over. Jack's having a lot of fun though."

Morgan nodded and then winced as a kid shrieked close by, "Man, I forgot how loud a bunch of kids can be. How're they gonna get these guys under control?"

"The Cubmaster will handle it. Give them a few minutes."

Sure enough, about five minutes later the kids abruptly began to quiet down and their hands shot into the air in what, to Morgan, looked like a V-for-Victory symbol. He was about to question Hotch about the gesture when one of the uniformed leaders asked everyone to rise for the Presentation of the Colors. Once the flag ceremony, Pledge of Allegiance and introductions were finished, the races began. Since Jack's car wasn't in the first heat, Morgan took the opportunity to ask, "What was that thing with the two fingers? I thought the Scouts used a different sign," he mimicked the Boy Scout sign that he was familiar with.

Hotch nodded and explained, "That's the Boy Scout sign. Cub Scouts use the two-fingered one. It's also how they got them to be quiet so fast: 'signs up' means 'shut up and pay attention.' It usually works pretty well."

Rossi grinned, "I wonder if that would work on LEOs too."

That got a laugh from the other two, "I wish!"

An hour or so passed as the three men cheered Jack and the other boys on, heat after heat. During a small lull in the action Rossi caught his friend grinning at something on his phone and had to ask, "What's so amusing Aaron?"

Hotch tilted the phone so Dave could see the picture that JJ had forwarded to him of he and Jack working on the car that first night. The question had also caught Morgan's attention so the phone was passed to him too, "Nice tool belts. You two look like you had a lot of fun there."

"We did. Jack did a great job sanding and painting the car; he only needed help a couple of times." Remembering Morgan's remark from the office, Hotch wiggled his fingers at his friend, "And see, all fingers still attached, so you don't have to worry about the paperwork."

"Thank God! The personnel stuff is bad enough!"

Rossi was the one to ask the obvious question, "Who took the photo? Jess?"

"No, my girlfriend was over that night and took it."

All thoughts of the car fled both men's minds when Hotch so casually dropped the 'g-word.' To his amusement, Dave looked particularly torn between pride, surprise and insult over not knowing about this before, "Girlfriend? When did you start dating again? Last I knew you broke up with Beth after a few dates."

"I've been seeing her for about six months now. And I didn't tell you because I wanted you to keep your nose out of it."

Rossi scoffed, "And here I thought you were just being stubborn when you wouldn't let me fix you up with someone."

Morgan grinned at the older man's outrage, "So, what's her name?"

Hotch had to hold back an uncharacteristic snicker; they really were slipping if they hadn't realized that the only woman he had the _time_ to seriously date was JJ. Not to mention the fact that she was also the only one he'd really shown any true interest in since his divorce; the thing with Beth had only lasted as long as it did because he didn't want to hear Dave complain about his lack of a social life. Never mind having to avoid his attempts to get him laid. But instead of saying that, he decided to play with them some more and replied, "What, and have Garcia run her background and scare her off? No. You'll meet her soon enough."

Their resulting protests were soon cut off when Jack's number was called for the next heat. Hotch took one more look at the photo, and the one after it, before putting his phone away. He was grateful that the ongoing excitement kept their focus on the races rather than his dating life, though he knew it wouldn't last forever. Luckily, the races ended without them having another chance to question him and Jack bounding over after the Retiring of the Colors prevented them from renewing their interrogation.

The younger Hotchner was bubbling over with excitement and proudly showed his ribbon to his father, "Look Daddy, I won fifth place!"

"That's great Jack!" He took the ribbon the boy held out and looked at it, "You did a great job buddy. Congratulations!"

"Thanks! Look Uncle Dave, Uncle Derek, look at my car! I made it myself!" He handed the car to Morgan for inspection because _everyone_ knew that Uncle Derek was great with tools, "Daddy helped me cut it out but I sanded an' painted it all by myself!"

Both uncles were appropriately lavish with praise, bringing an even bigger grin to the six-year-old's face. His father placed a hand on his shoulder to still his bouncing and handed back the ribbon. "Hey bud, why don't we take Uncle Dave and Uncle Derek out to lunch to celebrate?"

"Can we get ice cream later?"

"Sure pal, ice cream too."

"Yay! C'mon Uncle Derek, let's go get ice cream!" Morgan quickly found himself being pulled out of the hall by the hyper boy, a smirking Hotch and Rossi following in their wake.

As the four piled into Hotch's SUV, Rossi couldn't resist asking once more, "So, what's her name Aaron?" His only reply was a laugh.

"You'll find out soon enough Dave." To his amusement, Dave didn't even seem to notice JJ's lingering perfume in the SUV, a sure clue to her identity had he been paying close enough attention, "Soon enough."

'Damn it," Rossi thought, 'he's _enjoying_ this!' Well, there was more than one way to find out what he wanted to know. He just had to be sneakier about it.

Little did he know that the answer sat less than fifty feet away from his own office….


	3. Breakfast with Uncle Spence

Disclaimer: Still not mine

A/N: This is a version of the idea that sparked this story in the first place; I needed an explanation as to where Hotch and Jack were while JJ and Reid talked. My apologies for the delay but between real life and Reid being unexpectedly stubborn and hard to write, this took a while to complete. Enjoy!

As Hotch and Jack were checking in at the race, JJ and Henry were pulling up in front of Reid's apartment building to pick him up for breakfast. Henry was bouncing in his seat with excitement, straining the abilities of his safety straps to keep him in place. He couldn't wait to see his Uncle Spence! When Reid exited the building a few moments later, the young boy quickly spotted the familiar purple scarf and hollered, "Uncle Spence! Uncle Spence!" Luckily for his mother's ears, Reid quickly got into the car and turned to greet him.

"Good morning Henry. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah! I want 'ancakes Uncle Spence!"

"Pancakes, huh? That sounds great Henry." Feeling suddenly rude, he turned to greet JJ as well, "Good morning JJ. Thanks for inviting me to breakfast."

The blonde reached over to give him a one-armed hug, "It's our pleasure. We haven't had breakfast together in a while. She pulled the car back out into the morning traffic before continuing, "Do you mind going to IHOP? Henry's been on a pancake kick for a while now."

"That…that's fine JJ. I'm just glad we're out together. I've missed Henry…and you too."

"We've missed you too Spence." Reid felt a little guilty at the slightly wistful tone in her voice; while they'd been functioning better at work, he'd been avoided her out of the office for a long time once he'd found out the truth about Prentiss's 'death' and his trust in JJ had been shaken. He'd missed a lot and was admittedly a little surprised at how quickly JJ had let him back into her confidence once he'd gotten over his own hurt feelings. But ever since the long heart to heart they'd had a few weeks ago, things had improved a lot.

With Henry's cheerful chatter in the backseat then ten minute ride to the local IHOP passed quickly. Upon their arrival Henry insisted that Reid be the one to carry him inside. "I want Uncle Spence Mama!" JJ grinned at her friend's expression and passed over her squirming child.

"Here you go Uncle Spence. Let's go have breakfast."

"YAY!"

The restaurant was busy and noisy, as would be expected on a Saturday morning. They were shown to a booth who greeted JJ with a friendly smile, which told Reid that she and Henry came here often. That hypothesis was confirmed a few moments later when their waitress came over and greeted them.

"Good morning! And how are two of my favorite customers today?"

JJ smiled at her, "Good morning Susie. Not too bad, you?"

"Not bad myself," the brunette grinned at Reid and asked, "Are you the kid brother she's always talking about?" Reid could only blush as he tried to come up with an answer. As it was, it was Henry who piped up helpfully.

"Dat's my Uncle Spence! We want pancakes!"

Susie laughed and held up her order pad, "Nice to meet you. So, pancakes for you again, little man. And an apple juice, I'm guessing?" At nods from both Henry and his mother, she wrote down the order and then turned to the adults, "And what can I get for you two?"

JJ picked up her menu, "I'll have a coffee to start with please, but I think I'm going to need a few minutes to decide on breakfast. Spence?"

"Uhh…I'll…coffee for me too please."

"Alright, two coffees and an apple juice coming up. Be back in a few minutes."

Once she'd walked off to get their drinks, Reid looked at his blonde friend, his expression one of shocked curiosity, "Kid brother? I don't get it."

JJ smiled sheepishly, "We've mentioned you a few times when we're here and it was the simplest explanation. I hope you don't mind."

"No, no, I'm…I'm flattered JJ, especially after the last few months. I just didn't realize that you viewed me that way."

JJ reached over the table and touched his arm, "Spence, you've been like a brother to me for years now. Why else would I have made you Henry's godfather? You were angry at me, and justifiably so. But we're good now, right?"

"Yes, of…of course."

"Then let's not mention that again. It's over and done with. Now, what do you want for breakfast?" The question was enough to make him refocus his attention on his menu; Susie would be back any moment and he didn't want to make her wait. It was a very busy morning here. He made his decision just in time as Susie bustled back over to the table moments after he'd closed his menu, bearing their drinks. Once she'd set them down and taken the adults' orders she sent a curious look JJ's way.

"Where are those other two gorgeous men of yours today?"

As Reid blinked in surprise at the seemingly odd question JJ laughed as she passed her menu over, "Scouts took priority today; the big race is this morning. Don't worry; they'll be here next time."

Susie grinned and tucked the menus into the crook of her arm, "I hope to hear all about it then. Be back in a bit!"

Once she was out of earshot, Reid threw JJ a look that on anyone else would have been called accusing; on him it just looked confused, "You're dating someone JJ? Why didn't you tell us?"

She just sighed, "Because with everything else that's been going on it didn't seem like the highest priority to talk about. Everyone was too pissed off at me to be bringing up personal stuff and then it just didn't come up. You guys sussed out my last relationship fast enough, I guess I figured that you'd do it again. I started seeing him about six months ago, a little after I broke up with Will."

Reid glanced at Henry, who seemed oblivious to the adults' conversation as he scribbled on the children's menu. "I take it things are going well then? You look happier than I've ever seen you."

"I am happy Spence. Things are going very well. The boys get along great and he's wonderful with Henry. We're doing great."

Reid smiled, "Then I'm…then I'm happy for you JJ. I look forward to meeting him."

JJ's resulting smile was a mix of amusement and mischief, "Don't worry Spence. I promise that you'll meet him soon."

Across the table little Henry let out a giggle as he reached for another crayon. Grown-ups were funny! Jack had told him last night that his Mommy and Jack's Daddy were waiting for Uncle Spence and Uncle Dave to figure out that they were a family now and that his uncles were silly because they hadn't figured it out yet. He and Jack had decided that they wanted to play along and not tell the secret either. It was fun playing a trick on Uncle Spence!

Their food came a few minutes later and conversation turned towards a trip to the Children's Museum after breakfast, which caused both Reid and Henry to chatter excitedly. JJ smiled and ate as she watched two of her favorite boys talk away. It was good to get out with Spence again. She just hoped he wouldn't be too upset when he found out who her boyfriend really was. And she _really_ wanted to see his reaction when he found out!


	4. The Reveal

Disclaimer: Same as always, I don't own them.

Monday morning seemed to come earlier than it should, as it always did and it found Morgan wandering into the unit's kitchenette in search of coffee, as usual. He'd just poured himself a cup of the life-sustaining liquid when Reid joined him, obviously still half-asleep. "Morning kid. Coffee?"

Reid blinked at him in reply, "Huh? Oh, good morning Morgan. Yes please."

Once Reid had taken a few sips and appeared marginally more human, Morgan asked, "Have a good weekend?"

"Yes. I went out to breakfast and the Children's' Museum with JJ and Henry on Saturday, which was nice. We hadn't done that in a while." Reid looked thoughtful for a moment and then asked, "Did you know JJ was dating someone? She never told me."

The sudden question caused Morgan to choke on a mouthful of hot liquid, "JJ's dating someone? I didn't know; neither she nor Garcia mentioned anything. So, who is he?"

"I don't know; he wasn't there. I only know about it because our waitress asked where her boyfriend was; apparently they go there a lot. She said he was at a Scout event with his son that morning." Reid's eyes went wide when Morgan froze with his coffee cup halfway to his mouth, the pieces clicking into place…the secrecy, the fact that he'd taken over personnel matters just over six months ago…Hotch had said he and his girlfriend had been dating for about six months.… JJ and Will had called things off a little before that….

"Morgan, are you okay?"

"It couldn't be…," the dark-skinned profiler set his cup down, half-dazed, "They couldn't have hidden something like that from us…."

"What are you talking about?" Any further questions Reid may have had were cut off as the other man bolted from the room, understanding dawning on his face.

"HOTCH!"

In his office, Rossi looked up as the younger man's bellow ripped through the office; Morgan sounded awfully awake for this time on a Monday morning. His ever-sensitive nose for gossip twitched as he stepped out of the office just as Morgan hit the top of the stairs, "What's going on?"

"You really didn't know? I just figured out who Hotch is dating!"

"What? Who?" But Morgan had already turned toward the Unit Chief's office and, not even bothering to knock, went inside with Rossi close on his heels. Once inside, they were met with the sight of Hotch and JJ talking quietly over a case file as if nothing usual was going on. Both looked up curiously as the two entered unceremoniously and Hotch asked, "Morgan is everything alright?"

"You two…how…I don't…?" The couple exchanged amused looks at their friend's sudden inability to compose a coherent sentence, "You're…together?"

Rossi looked between the three and finally understood, "Aaron, you're dating JJ? _She's_ the mystery girlfriend?"

That got an insulted scoff from JJ, "It wasn't that much of a mystery!"

Hotch chuckled in agreement, "We weren't hiding it, you just didn't look all that closely." He picked up the photo frame that he'd just set on his desk before they arrived and passed it over to Rossi, "See for yourself."

The two men looked at the triple frame, the evidence finally hitting them in the face. One on side was the picture that Hotch had shown them on Saturday while on the other was one of Hotch, Henry (hard hat once again in place) and Jack posing with the finished car. In the middle was a professional photograph of the four of them, obviously taken around Christmas time. The two profilers looked at each other, then back at the pictures. Dave was the first to recover from the shock, "I can't believe you guys kept this from us!"

"And _I_ can't believe that you really thought that there was someone other than JJ that I'd be dating at all. Really Dave, I think you're slipping." He wound an arm around JJ's waist and smirked at his friend, "As I said, we haven't exactly been hiding it."

"You hadn't exactly told us either!"

The rest of the team came through the doorway, drawn by Morgan's bellow and his bolting through the bullpen like a rocket. Taking in the sight in front of them Reid's expression turned to comprehension, Prentiss sent a glare at her blonde friend and Garcia squealed and clapped her hands, already planning a marathon girl-talk session as soon as she could manage it. This was great!

Hotch let loose a rare laugh at the looks on their teammates' faces and pulled JJ closer to his side. Kissing the top of her head, he remarked, "Sweetheart, I think you were right; a review of some basic profiling concepts is certainly in order."

His girlfriend just grinned and laid her head on his shoulder while they waited for the team to recover their powers of speech, "I'll say…they're definitely rusty!"

The End


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